South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1887-07-29
THE WORLDS WASTE
How Fortunes Are Yearly Thrown
Away in TriAes.
Three Millions Wasted Annually
in Lost Pins.

Call thus whimsica,ly treats the subject
| of useless waste:
wish had nickel for every dollar
wasted in this country Yes, I'll reduce
| that proposition to cent on the dollar,
and then retire rich in few years.
don't mean wasted by the rich but by
the poor and the moderately well off
And when / say waste, don't include
flowers, pictures or articles solely for the
eye, nor do consider it waste for rich
man to have a suit for every day in the
year, or 500 pairs of pantaloons, like that
estimablc New York gentleman, Berry
Wall. mean waste in every day mat
ter-of-fact articles such as everybody
uses.
| Let us take pins, for a starter. You
have doubtless been asked what becomes
of the pins, and don't know Nobody
knows; not even the English journal that
recently offered cash prize for solu-
ton of the problem. They are lost, and
that's all you can say about it. But why
should they be lost! You don't lose
your diamond pin, although it's not
much larger than common brass one.
1t is evident that the pins could be taken
care of; that they ought to be, let figures
attest. There are 10000, 900 people in
the United States, and every one on an
average loses five cents worth of pins
per annum. That makes So, 900, 900 a
year gone nowhere. My per cent. on
that would give me $50, 900 a year:
enough to clothe me at any rate. Just
think of 81, 600, 900 year lost forever.
rs not one pin in 90, 900, 900 is ever found
again.
But that is only a beginning. Let us
take up cigars and pipes as the next ar
ticle on the catalogue of waste. Don't
be alarmed! l am not going to compute
the cost of smoking and call it waste.
because am a smoker and have scruples.
am going to concede that money in
vested in tobacco is well invested and
then open your eyes to another awful
leak. let us approach the subject grad
ually, because it is vast. There are
200, 600 cigars week smoked i'm this
city and 1000, 600 pipe loads of tobacco.
Don't ask me how / know this data-you
put me out. Average cost of cigar to
consumer, five cents; total cost, $50. 600.
Average cost OF pipe load, one cent;
tota! cost, $50, 600. Grand total, So
900 week expended, and of this
amount one-fifth is wasted After long
observation and careful calculation find
that one-iifth of each cigar is thrown
away unsmoked and the same proportion
OF each pipe load. This may seem large.
but l am confident that it is rather under
the average, and it represents loss of.
sl4, 900 week, or $72S, 900 year. Re
member, this in Philadelphia alone. and
| can safely multiply it by fifty to include
the rest of the country Grand total.
$50, 400, 600, on which my percentage is
1864, 900. l already have respectable
income, you perceive.
| am only in the suburbs of this sub
ject, and already am appalled, at the
amount of territory that stretches before
me- 1t is estimated by careful house
| Keepers that one-tenth of each pot of
coffee or tea is not fit to drink, and
what to do with the Stops no one knows.
Jumping the crusts of bread. ends of
steak, dabs Of butter, crumbs of cake
and pie. remnants, am, within-;beunds
when say that one-tenth of every meal
goes to waste. and since everybodyseats.
even IT they don't smoke or drink, the
aggregate must be enormous. / will
not enter into figures. but will content
myself with taking $50, 600 year as nv
percentage.
have not finished, even If do quit.
In the matter of buttons there must be n
large sum coming TO me. and likewise in
the item of matches. Very few persons
make match do its full duty Then
look at the unnecessary amount Of paper
that is used in making fires by women.
when old paper is worth n cent pound.
There arc other things too numerous
to mention, and ] have not taken at all
INTO account the things that are thrown
away and return to their original elemeRts,
and so In a measure are not wasted. /
am aware that the list is incomplete, and
feel sure you will he able to supple
ment it from your experience. But IL
viii do for an example and serve 10
maintain me in idleness and ease during
the remainder Of my life. My percentage
on the various wastagcs enumerated is
the enormous sum Of 81 ,2fO. 500 and some
small items not enumerated. With that
income | could afford TO do some vast
ing on my own account.
a tidy income, isn't itl How much
have you contributed toward it2
Where They Are.
"Where are those who have gone be-